After Holgate had spent time in different bands, mostly alongside guys, she was fed up with being the "token girl" and decided to invest time in finding an all-girl lineup. Once the other three members were recruited, they set to work playing noisy, pop-influenced, guitar-led music that nodded to noted influences such as Hole, the Jesus and Mary Chain, and Beach House.

They packed their rough and gritty live sound with attitude, and after a series of shows in a number of unconventional spaces — such as disused office blocks and hotel basements — they released their first single, "LUVU4LYF," in 2012. Their self-produced debut album, Girls Like Us, which they recorded in a week, arrived in October 2013.